Neo Rovers 2: Bone-afide Heroes
by Repicheep22
Summary: After being rescued by the Neo Rovers, the Road Rovers accept the new heroes into their pack, looking forward to being heroes again. A twelve year skip might not seem like a lot, the world has a habit of changing faster than we like to admit. And as the Rovers attempt to adjust to their time gone, new enemies and allies will enter their lives, for better or for worse.
1. Chapter 1

As the Sonic Rover soared through the night, Alex sat at the controls to the jet, her mind synched with its systems. Since her first encounter with the AI Master, she had found that she liked letting her mind wander through cyberspace. She knew she had to be careful, though. If there was one thing she had picked up from her programmer master, it was that the internet was for more than just research. She had found that wandering through the radio waves and communications signals that surrounded her had a calming effect on her, as a normal person might find in a walk through a park. The scenery was lovely, but her mind was on other things.

As she swiveled around in her seat, she looked back at the rest of the Rovers sprawled throughout the cabin. Some of them sat in the jet's seats, while others were sprawled out on the floor. She noticed Sylvia was slumped against the wall and chuckled as she saw Taz tucked up under the German Shepard's arm. The dingo pup had fallen asleep long before the other, older members of the team, curling up on the floor, exhausted from the day's events. Alex's eyes wondered over the rest of the room, lingering on the puddle of drool dripping from Anton's jaws and watching as Blitz kicked in his sleep.

Her eyes finally came to a stop, when they lay upon Hunter and Colleen. The pair was sitting on the floor, shoulder to shoulder, with Colleen leaning her head on Hunter's shoulder, and between the two, Alex could see their hands interlocking. Her march through the digital realm came to a stop as she focused on the pair. Colleen slept with a smile on her face, and Hunter had a grin that spelled contentment. Alex stared at the couple's hands as she remembered the conversation she had had with them earlier that night.

After the unintentional reveal of the Road Rover's unintended time jump and the slew of questions that had followed, the conversation had shifted into smaller groups. Taz had enthusiastically regaled Blitz and Exile with tales of the last ten years in entertainment. Anton, Shag, and Sylvia had started trading cooking tips, and the Master had asked Gavin about all the major world events that had he had missed out on. Alex had found herself talking to Hunter and Colleen, and eventually, the conversation had turned towards their relationship.

* * *

"So how did it start?" asked Alex. "I mean, I gather you met when the team formed, but when did you become a couple?"

"Well, I have to admit," said Hunter. "I can be a bit dense."

"You don't say," Colleen commented.

Hunter laughed as he put an arm around the collie.

"Anyway, I think it was sometime in the summer of '98 when I first asked her on a date."

"I'd been crushing on him for a long time before then, though," Colleen said, leaning on his shoulder. "Took him for-bloody-ever to get the hint."

She leaned up and planted a kiss on his cheek as she continued.

"He took me to one of the nicest dining places in town. Then, we snuck into its back lot and went dumpster diving." She laughed. "Never had so much food and fun at the same time."

Alex chuckled.

"It seems you and Gavin have something in common," she said.

A thought crossed her mind.

"Were you dogs or cano-sapiens for this?"

"Dogs," answered Hunter.

"So, you retain your cognitive functions when you revert to canine form?" asked Alex.

"Yes, we do," said Hubert, joining in the conversation. "It's a side effect of the Transdogmafication process. Now, Miss Alex, I hope you don't mind, but I assume you've seen the workings of our base of operations."

"Yes."

"Well, then perhaps you could give me a rough guess as to how much we'll need to improve things."

* * *

From there, the conversation had drifted into talk of technology, Alex getting Hubert and the Master up to speed on the latest tech. She looked forward to overhauling the Rovers' base; all that time she had spent watching her master work would finally pay off.

Alex's wandering mind was brought to a halt once again by an incoming transmission, which she felt an instant before she heard it.

"Hello, is anyone there? This is Luka."

Alex sat in surprise for a moment, before touching her communicator collar.

"I hear you, Luka. This is Alex," she said.

"Oh, thank goodness," replied the soldier on the other end. "Where are you? I've been getting worried."

"Luka, is something wrong?"

"No, no. I just thought I would have heard something from you. It's been nearly a two days."

"Well, we managed to find the Road Rovers, and we're heading back to our base."

"Oh good, that's a weight off my mind. I think I'll leave you to your flight. Thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome."

With that, the communicator went silent. Alex sat still for a minute before a blinking light on the jet's console caught her attention. Taking note, she moved to the back and gently shook Gavin.

"Hey, wake up," she whispered.

The border collie's eyes blinked open as he awoke. Seeing the malamute staring down at him, he smiled and yawned.

"Hey Alex, what's up?" he asked blearily.

"Hi Gavin," she said. "Listen, can you help me wake the others up. The autopilot says we're getting close to base, and I thought it'd be wise to wake everyone up.

Gavin's ears and eyebrows went up as he stretched.

"Sure," he grunted.

He rose from his seat, and within a few minutes, all the Rovers were awakened.

"Thanks for the wakeup call, hon," yawned Colleen, as she and Hunter took the front seats and peered over the console. "We'd best all buckle up, 'cuz we're just about to start our landing approach."

The Road Rovers and Neo Rovers all found their seats and strapped their safety harnesses on. The pair of pilots began pulling levers and flipping switches, until suddenly, the engine sputtered and shuttered, before shutting down.

"Uh, was that supposed to happen?" asked Taz, peering out the window.

Hunter pulled a mouthpiece from the dashboard.

"This is your captain speaking," he said, over the jet's loudspeakers. "I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is we'll be landing soon. The bad news is we're out of fuel; so we'll be crash landing."

Everyone in the jet's cabin sat in shocked silence as he continued.

"Please be sure your tray tables are stowed and your seatbacks are in the upright position. If we should happen to crash in a large body of water, please remember that your seat cushion can be used as a floatation device. Thank you for flying Rover Air, and have a pleasant day."

As Hunter stowed the mouthpiece, the Rovers in the back felt their weight shift as the plane started to nose towards the earth. Moments later, several loud screams of terror came from the back of the cabin.

"I'm too young to die!" cried Taz.

"I'm too pretty to die!" exclaimed Blitz.

"_Au revoir__, mes amis_," Anton sobbed. "It was wonderful while it lasted."

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen!" exclaimed Gavin. "We'll be fine, right Hunter?"

The Labrador turned back towards his passengers with an apologetic look on his face.

Gavin's eyes grew wide for a moment before screwing shut as he too joined the chorus of wails.

As the Sonic Rover shook and buffeted as his plummeted, Alex looked around her in terror. The two pilots were frantically working the jet's controls, trying to pull them out of their ever increasing dive. All around, her fellow Rovers were crying out in terror as the ground rushed up to meet them.

"I can't believe this is it," she thought. "I'll never see my master again. I'll never get a chance to be a hero. I'll never –"

Her thoughts ground to a halt as she looked towards the front of the cabin. Hunter and Colleen had stopped trying to save the jet and were gripping each other's' hands. The placement of the front seats prevented them from having any other form of contact, but as they plunged towards certain doom, she could tell they wanted to spend their last moments together.

Alex stared at the pair for a brief instant, before something sent a surge through her mind.

"No," she thought, "I won't let this end. I won't let what they have end like this. I'm going to save my pack, my team, and my friends!"

Reaching into the depths of her mind, she felt something visceral and instinctual take control. For the second time that day, she felt her mind meld with the jet's systems as she let out a primal howl.

* * *

With the sounds of rushing winds and screaming dogs filling her ears, Sylvia wrapped Taz in a hug, leaning over him protectively. She whimpered as she felt the pup beneath her arms shaking like a leaf.

"I cannot believe it is ending like this," she thought.

She thought of her master, back home in Germany, the friends she had made amongst the Road Rovers and the Neo Rovers. She would never see them again, never chase rabbits in the woods, never –

She yelped in surprise as she felt her weight suddenly shift as the engines sprang back to life. In front of her, she could see Alex howling to the sky, a purple aura radiating from her, as she watched the jet start to pull out of its nosedive. As she watched, she saw the paneling on the jet's walls begin to glow purple as a series of cracks and crashes came from the back of the jet.

Turning in her seat, she watched as the rear ramp was violently severed from the plane and fell away. An instant later, wind began rushing by her as she watched the Sonic Rover's front door fly out the back. Turning back, she watched as scores of wires erupted from the walls, ceiling, and floor and began prying parts of the plane's interior apart. Panels, empty sets, and carpeting were thrown out the back, followed by the jet's mechanical, hydraulic, and electronic parts. Within seconds, the interior of the plane had become a skeleton of its former self.

By now, the plane had pulled out of its nosedive, but was still heading for a rough landing. Hunter called out from the front.

"Brace for impact!"

Instants later, the Sonic Rover slammed into the New Mexico desert. Sliding along the sand, it kicked up a massive cloud of dust and dirt, and sand flew in through the front door, blinding the passengers within. For several tense seconds, the Rovers held on tight as their jet skidded along the ground. Finally, the jet came to a shuddering halt as it collided with an outcropping of rock.

A few moments passed, as the dust began to settle. Slowly, the Rovers began to wipe the sand from their eyes and began to extricate themselves from their seats.

Coughing the dust from her lungs, Sylvia released her hold on Taz as she sat up and unbuckled her safety harnesses. She watched as the other Rovers all did the same, all but Alex.

"Alex," she asked, as she came around the front of her chair, "are you alright?"

She gasped when she saw the malamute was unconscious. Hastily pulling of her harnesses, she caught the other female as she fell forward from her seat.

Next to her, Gavin had finally wiped the grit from his eyes and turned as he heard Sylvia gasp.

"Alex!" he exclaimed, rushing to help catch her. "Is she alright?" he asked.

"I am not sure," said Sylvia, concernedly. "Let's get her outside."

The pair carried the unconscious Alex out, supporting her arms with their shoulders. As they exited the crashed jet, they saw the other Rovers standing in the moonlight, as the sky began to light in the east. After a moment, Taz leapt in the air with a loud whoop.

"We're alive!" he cried, his excitement causing fire to rise from his arms. "We're aliiiii – Hmmph!"

Blitz's hand clamped over his mouth.

"_Halt die mund!" _he hissed. "Do you want people to hear us?"

Taz wrested himself from the Doberman's grasped and glared back at him.

"Well, forgive me, mate," he said, "if I'm a little excited over not bein' dead."

"Easy now, Rovers," said the Master, laying a hand on each one's shoulder. "No need for anger. We're all a little high on adrenaline. First, let's get away from the plane, so if anyone sees the dust cloud, they won't find us."

Nodding in agreement, the Rovers trekked east over the desert, towards the lake where their base was. Shag offered to carry the still unconscious Alex, to which Sylvia and Gavin acquiesced. As they walked along and the sun began to rise, Hunter noticed that Gavin looked disheartened.

"You okay, bud?" he asked the Border collie.

Gavin sighed.

"I guess I'm just worried about Alex," he said. "This is the second time she gone unconscious like this. The first time was my fault."

"Now, wait a minute," said Hunter. "I heard what happened with the AI Master. And that pillar falling over wasn't your fault. You and Taz had no idea it was that weak, or that he was powerful enough to break it."

"Yeah, but if I hadn't been –"

"Listen, Gavin," Hunter stopped in his tracks and turned to look the Neo Rover straight in the eye. "The first time Alex went unconscious was not, I repeat, was _not_ your fault. The time, is also not your fault. Do you realize what she did for us today?"

Gavin shook his head.

"She restarted the engines, forcing them to run by 'manually' rotating them with the pneumatic starter pump. At the same time, she adjusted the Sonic Rover's ailerons, bringing us out of our nose dive, and while she was doing that, she tossed absolutely everything that was unnecessary out the back door to make the plane lighter and the crash less deadly. She fainted, because of the mental stress she went through to save everyone. Now, you can either sit here, moping about how you couldn't keep her safe, or you can take the time that _she _has given you and be the leader you were meant to be."

When Hunter finished his tirade, he briefly stared at the younger Rover before his natural smile reappeared on his face.

"And who knows? She probably likes confident guys."

With that, he turned on his heel and followed the group, still heading east towards the rising sun. Gavin stood in shock for a moment before rushing to catch up with Hunter.

"How did you know what she did?" he asked, catching up to the Labrador.

"Well, until she pulled them out and tossed them, the instruments were still working," Hunter grinned.

"I can't imagine the strain that must have had on her mind," Gavin pondered. "How did she do it? We haven't even had our powers for a week."

"You'd be surprised what someone under stress can do," Hunter replied. "Maybe it was the adrenaline."

As they walked along, Gavin paused for a moment.

"What did you mean when you said 'the leader I'm meant to be'?" he asked.

Hunter chuckled.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but the other Neo Rovers already think of you as their leader," he said.

"Really?" Gavin asked, his ears up in surprise.

"Oh sure, you're the one who lead the charge against the AI Master, you're the one who put the pieces together on how to find us, and you concocted the scheme that got you out of the slammer. And, to top it off, your powers will make our team coordination ten times easier."

As they reached the main group, the Border collie thought about what Hunter had said. While all of it was true, Gavin did not feel much like a leader. If anything, he felt like he was the least qualified. Alex was super smart, Anton was really strong, Sylvia had a certain motherly quality to her, and Taz had, well, enthusiasm.

"And sure, my telepathy would come in handy in a fight, but I don't –"

His thoughts were interrupted by a groan from within the group, Gavin looked up to see Alex stirring in Anton's hold.

"Alex!" he exclaimed, rushing up to her.

"Welcome back to living world, comrade," said Exile.

"Did we make it?" asked the still semi-conscious malamute. "Is everyone safe?"

"Yes, Alex," said the Master, placing his hand on her shoulder, "thanks to you."

"Oh, thank goodness," she sighed, leaning back in Shag's arms.

"How are you feeling?" asked Sylvia.

Alex rubbed her hand over her face, trying to wipe the drowsiness from her eyes.

"Light-headed," she said, "but I think I can walk."

With a grunt, Shag lowered her to the ground. As she tentatively stepped onto the sandy ground, she tripped and fell forward.

"Whoa, I gotcha!" exclaimed Gavin.

Leaping forward to catch her, Gavin wrapped his arms around the falling malamute. After a moment, Alex had regained her footing and leaned on him to straighten up. As she rose, her eyes inadvertently locked with Gavin's. He was stunned to see that her eyes were a beautiful shade of chocolate brown. Likewise, Gavin's piercing steel-blue eyes caught Alex by surprise. For a moment, neither Rover moved, holding each other in a half-embrace. They were jolted from their reverie as Colleen cleared her throat.

"Ahem, well, what say we get moving, then?" she asked.

The two younger Rovers separated, their cheeks glowing red, as the cavalcade of canines continued to cross the wasteland before them.

* * *

After several more hours of walking, the sun had risen to its zenith, and the desert sun was mercilessly beating down on the bedraggled dogs. As he panted heavily, Anton wiped the sweat from his brow.

"How much farther is it to the base?" he asked, wringing out the fur on his forearms. "I'm afraid I will melt in this heat."

"I could scout ahead, if you guys want," Hunter replied.

A murmur of agreement sent the Labrador rushing over the next ridge. As the other Rovers sat on the ground, Anton collapsed onto his stomach, his thick fur making the day's activities extremely uncomfortable. Looking around, he saw the other Rovers panting, their energy drained by the heat.

"If only we could get some shade," he thought.

He then noticed the wind begin to pick up, its cool gusts washing over his fur. Looking towards the sky, he saw a wall of clouds rushing towards them.

"Rain!" he thought. "What luck!"

Within moments, the sky was darkened by the advancing storms.

"Is the weather normally like this?" Anton asked Colleen, over the rising wind.

"It's the desert," replied Colleen. "When it changes, it changes fast, but I can't say it's ever changed this fast."

After a few minutes of rest, Exile pointed eastward.

"Comrades, do you see that?" he asked.

Looking where he was pointing, the other Rovers saw a cloud of dust rising from the east. Moments later, Hunter came blazing over the ridge, skidding to a stop beside his teammates.

"Did you find the lake?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, yeah I did," Hunter breathed, panting heavily, "and I've got some bad news. There were a bunch of army guys around the lake, and I'm pretty sure they spotted me. They're heading this way."

"How long do we have?" asked Gavin, rising to his feet.

"Not sure, last I saw of them, they had their jeeps' pedals to the floor."

"I'd really rather us not get in a fight with the US military," said the Master, "but if we must defend ourselves, then so be it."

The ten Rovers got to their feet, readying to protect the Master, Hubert, and Muzzle. Within minutes, the sound of running motors reached the canines' ears, as they saw a cloud of dust rising from over the ridge. Moments later, a dozen jeeps breached the top of the hill and began rolling down the slope towards them. As the wind continued to rise, the Rovers braced for a fight. As he eyed the oncoming soldiers, Gavin's ears perked up.

"Do you guys hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?" asked Sylvia.

"That voice on the wind," the Border collie replied, "it sounds like…singing, or chanting?"

As the wind continued to rise and the soldiers drew closer, the other Rovers began to hear what Gavin did. The voice was rich and melodious, but the words it spoke were unlike any they had heard before. Suddenly, Gavin's mind was stricken with a powerful pain. Gripping the sides of his head, he bent over in agony, a cry of pain escaping his muzzle.

"Gavin, what's wrong!?" cried Alex.

"Not sure," Gavin wheezed. "Huge spike in mental feedback. Feels like something's burrowing into my head!"

"Mates!" cried Taz. "Look at the wind!"

The other Rovers looked to up to see that the wind was now swirling around them at an astonishing rate, kicking up giant clouds of sand and completely obscuring the canines' view of the outside world. By now, the chanting had risen to a thunderous level. As the wind spun faster and faster, and the chanting grew louder and louder, the Rovers felt themselves begin to rise off the ground. As they ascended into the whirling winds, they saw a bright light in the clouds above them. As they looked on, the light rushed down to meet them, and they felt themselves engulfed by a powerful force. The next moment, the light vanished, leaving them several feet in the air and falling. With a resounding clang, the Rovers struck the metal floor beneath them, landing in a literal dog pile.

As the Rovers tried to extricate themselves from their pile, they heard a voice nearby, and as it spoke, they realized it was the same voice they had heard chanting in the desert.

"Dr. Shepard," it said, "it's been far too long. Welcome back to WISP."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hello everyone, it's been over a year since I last posted anything on this sight and over two years since I posted anything related to the Neo Rovers. I really don't know what to say, other than I'm sorry. This past year has been something of a train wreck for me, and I haven't touched any of my stories at all since last October. For those of you who don't know, for the past four years, I have been attempting to get my degree in Chemical Engineering. I really wanted to get into that particular field because, for one, I've always enjoyed building things, and two, there was a lot of money in the field. But, try as I might, the classes I was required to take proved to be too much for my brain to handle, and so, I've spent the last two years (including summers) trying to get through what are supposed to be sophomore level ChemE classes.**

Now, I've entered my fifth year of college and have decided that enough is enough. I am sick and tired of literally failing every semester and have changed to my major to Biological Sciences.

Another reason for my lack of activity is the fact that, a few years ago, a group of my friends and I started playing Dungeons and Dragons together. In the time since then, we've had more adventures than I care to count and have some really great stories to tell. However, being the storyteller that I am, I was quickly suckered in by the idea of writing and running my own campaign, so last summer, I did just that. Over the past year, I have been running my campaign, sending my friends' characters all over the world I had created, meeting NPCs I had crafted with the same care I had given the characters in my stories. To say the least, once I got the hang of it, I really enjoyed it; the give-and-take storytelling of tabletop roleplaying is a wonderful experience.

My excruciating classes, my growing interest in D&D, plus the fact that I started a job last summer, have all contributed to my lack of presence on the Internet. But, you may ask, why bring this up now? Why after all this time am I suddenly reappearing? Well, it's because I finally started writing again.

Having a less strenuous class load, plus having (mostly) finished my campaign, has given me the will and the free time to continue some of my stories. As of right now, I am currently working on finishing _Neo Rovers_, and from there, I plan on completing the remainder of my unfinished stories. I have a few sequels planned for some of my stories, but I don't want to make any promises I can't keep.

**So, look out for more in the coming weeks. Hope to see you then!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm terribly sorry for how long this took to get out. I've become increasingly involved with the #SaveCOH movement and have spent a lot of my writing time helping them out. But, I don't want to keep you any longer, so enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 2

As the Rovers attempted to extricate themselves from their literal dog pile, they saw they were in a large open room, not unlike a warehouse in design. All around, they could see unusual equipment leaning against the walls and scattered about the floor. Weaving between the equipment, people of every size and description could be seen. Some, they noted, looked decidedly inhuman. Turning towards the voice they had just heard, they saw the voice's source standing next to the raised platform they had landed on, a tall, thin woman whose white hair fell to the small of her back. As they watched, the Master approached the woman and shook her hand.

"Morgana, it's good to see a familiar face," he said.

Turning to the mostly untangled Rovers, the Master gestured to the woman.

"Rovers, I'd like you to meet Morgana, master sorceress and a good friend of mine."

The sorceress turned towards the Rovers and bowed slightly.

"It is a distinct pleasure to meet all of you all," she said, a melodious tone to her voice.

Her face grew pensive for a moment, before turning to Gavin.

"No need to intrude on my private thoughts," she cautioned.

Gavin blushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry," he said, "I'm still getting used to controlling that."

"It's quite alright, dear. Just don't let your mind wander too much. Now, I think I deserve an explanation, Shepherd," she turned back to the Master. "You suddenly go missing twelve years ago, and then, not two days ago, Justinian picks up your brainwaves just as suddenly as they vanished."

"Well, you see -"

"Hold on!" interrupted Hunter. "I think we deserve an explanation as well. Where exactly are we, and how did you know where we were?"

Morgana looked at the Rover's leader in puzzlement.

"You mean your Master never told you?"

"Never told us what?" asked Exile.

The silvery-haired woman turned back to Shepherd.

"Do you think they're ready?" she asked.

Shepherd pondered for a moment.

"Well," he began, "the original Rovers demonstrated their worth as heroes time and again under my guidance, and the Neo Rovers rescued the rest of us from a grim fate. So, I'd say that, yes, they are ready." He turned to the Rovers. "Follow us, everyone."

As the Rovers filed down off the platform, the Master undid Muzzle's restraints.

"I'm sure you remember this place, dontcha boy?" he asked. "Now, be good while we go on our tour, okay?"

The Rottweiler gave his master an affectionate lick before trotting off into the maze of equipment that covered the floor. Catching up to the others at the base of the platform, the Master joined Morgana and gestured for the rest to follow.

"So," he said, "what do you all know about me personally?"

"Shortly you developed the transdogmafier, General Parvo attempted to sabotage your efforts," Alex stated. "After failing that, he used your dog Scout to blackmail you into giving up the device's blueprints, destroying your lab shortly thereafter. Sometime later, you reemerged as the Master, with a new base of operations and new transdogmafiers, which you used to create the original Road Rovers."

"Very good, Alex," the Master said, complimenting the malamute, "I see you did your homework. And while all of that is true, that is not all that happened. You see, when my laboratory was destroyed, I was still inside it, and I was buried under several tons of rubble."

The Rovers looked on in shock as the Master continued.

"Thankfully, I lost consciousness almost instantly. I don't know how long I was knocked out, but when I woke up, I was surrounded by unfamiliar sights and sounds. Morgana, along with a few others, informed me that I had been caught in a collapsing office building."

"We had attempted to use an amnesiac on him," said Morgana, as they piled into an elevator, "but when he rebuffed our story, we realized that his memories were still intact."

"Why did you try to erase his memory?" asked Exile.

Morgana pressed a button on the elevator's console before replying.

"I'll explain that later," she said, "but when we realized that he remembered what had happened, _and_ that he was the inventor of the transdogmafier, we recruited him."

"And just who is 'we'?" asked Blitz.

The elevator dinged as it came to a halt, and the Rovers followed the Master and Morgana out onto a balcony, overlooking an enormous room.

"Road Rovers," said the sorceress, "welcome to W.I.S.P. Headquarters."

The Road Rovers were stunned into silence as they looked down into the cavern below them. The walls and ceiling of the enormous chamber were largely unspoiled. Stalactites, some several yards long, hung from the ceiling. On the walls, picturesque rock formations interplayed with a number of doors and catwalks that crisscrossed the cave. Hundreds of people bustled about, giving the room the look and feel of an enormous anthill. On one side, a half dozen people were moving a large crate. The metal box seemed to have a mind of its own as it swayed back and forth erratically, while hanging from the underside of the mobile frame supporting it. On another catwalk, a glass cage was being pushed along. Inside, the Rovers could see what looked like a woman sitting comfortably in a metal chair, her body wreathed in flame. The Rovers watched as a tall, pale man leapt from one of the highest catwalks and fell to the ground floor, only for him to land squarely on his feet and walk away without so much as a limp.

After several moments of watch, mouths agape, before turning back to the two humans with them. Colleen was the first to find her voice.

"What is this place?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Morgana smiled as she replied.

"W.I.S.P." she said, "is the Worldwide Institute for the Study of the Paranormal. Simply put, we investigate, study, and contain paranormal objects and entities. Anything that opposes the world's sense of normality, we investigate and study, and should it prove too dangerous to leave unchecked, we capture and contain it."

"But, what does any of this have to do with our Master?" asked Sylvia.

"That's just it," replied Morgana. "He and all of you are PNEs, Para-Normal Entities. Your Master is what many would call a mad scientist."

The Master nodded as he tapped the side of his head.

"It seems that my brain works fundamentally differently that the rest of humanity," he said. "This allows me to create things, like my transdogmafier, that appear to break the natural laws of the universe. And because all of you were created by a process that cannot be understood by conventional science, you are, by definition, paranormal."

"So, is this how you found out about our missions?" asked Hunter.

"Very astute, Hunter," replied Morgana. "Yes, because you Rovers posed no threat, we would send your Master tasks that could not be handled quietly."

The Rovers pondered this information for a few quiet moments. Taz looked as though he were about to ask to ask a question when a loud klaxon screamed from high on the ceiling.

"Attention!" said a synthetic female voice. "Containment breach in Sector 12. All personnel A4 and below, please commence with standard PNE and PNO protection and containment procedures. All personnel A5 and above, please report to Sector 12, Block 36 immediately."

Instants later, the already busy chamber began to buzz even louder. W.I.S.P. agents began rushing towards the various doors all around the facility.

"What's going on?" asked Hubert.

"Containment breach," replied Morgana as she headed towards the elevator, "PNO-387, murderous semi-sentient plastic toys. Shepherd, if you wouldn't mind?"

She motioned to the elevator.

"Oh, of course."

The Master entered the elevator and turned to the Rovers.

"Stay here, Rovers," he said, "this shouldn't take long, and we can't really have you running around the facility without an escort."

As the elevator's door shut, the Rovers were left in an eerily still room. By now, each and every W.I.S.P. agent had gone to their posts. The klaxon still blared, but the room was empty, except for the eleven cano-sapiens on one of the higher catwalks. After a few moments of silence, Taz spoke up.

"Well, I'm bored. Who wants to take a look around?"

"The Master said to stay here," replied Hunter.

"Oh, come on, mate. What's it gonna hurt to just walk around the room?" Taz asked. He held up his hand in promise. "I swear, I won't touch anything."

With a laugh, the Rovers began moving towards one of the stairways that led downwards. As they walked, they got a better look at the setup of the main hall. Dozens of catwalks crisscrossed the cavern in no discernible pattern, their size and shape just as random as their placement. The stairs that connected them seemed just as random.

However, as Alex looked closer, she could see that there was some method to the madness. It appeared that the entire hall was designed to make it as simple as possible to get from any one door to any other door, all the while avoiding any noticeable patterns and while making as few walkways as possible.

After a few minutes, the Rovers had split up into several groups, promising to call over their communicators on the off chance they found something interesting. The walkways themselves were largely unremarkable, mostly made of steel, held aloft by various supports above and below and everything coated with a brass veneer.

As they walked, they noticed the labels bolted to the walls next to the dozens of doors. Some were labeled as "Safe" containment, some for "Exteras" containment, and some for "Terminus" containment. Some had several names and numbers on them, while a few had only one.

"I can't help but wonder what's behind all these," said Gavin, as he stared at one of the signs.

"The names themselves do conjure up unusual images," replied Hubert. "Like this one, 'PNO-324: Eulogy Tree' or 'PNO-330: Just Take Three'."

"'Site 13, PNE-605: Predatory Thunderstorm, Exteras class'" Alex read from another sign, not twenty feet away. "This elevator must go to another facility."

"This is all rather amusing, but –"

Hubert stopped and sniffed the air, a befuddled look on his face.

"Do you smell that?" he asked.

The other Rovers sniffed and shook their heads

"You're the one with the super nose, Hubert," replied Alex.

"Of course," said the bloodhound, as he continued to smell the air, "let's see…I smell…motor oil…varnished brass…heavy water and…cranial fluid?"

"I'm not sure I want to know how you know the scent of cranial fluid," gagged Gavin. "Where are you smelling all this?"

Hubert sniffed again.

"Two levels down, over there."

He pointed to a door on one of the lower levels. As the three of them watched, the door slid open and a metallic figure walked out. Its metal hide gleamed with a brassy hue, as it stepped out into the main hall. Its arms, legs, and torso were covered in armored plates, and even at their distance, the Rovers could hear the faint clattering of clockwork gears as its metal feet clanked softly against the steel floor. As they watched, it looked over its shoulder, as though making sure it was unseen. Instinctually, the Rovers ducked behind the catwalk's railing, thanking their lucky stars that they were waist-high walls, rather than just rails.

As they watched, the robotic figure raised one of the fingers on its hand and placed it against the sign next to the door through which it had entered. After it had pressed its finger against the sign in several seemingly random places, the Rovers watched the sign swung open, revealing a panel full of electric controls. As they watched, it began to type at the control panel. Moments later, an unusual sound permeated the hall.

Gavin reached for his communicator.

"Hey guys, did you hear that?" he asked.

"That sound like the demon spawn of a bass guitar and a humpback whale?" came Taz's reply. "Yeah, we heard it."

"Are you seeing what caused sound, comrade?" asked Exile.

"Not sure," replied Gavin, "stand by."

Turning back to the clockwork figure below them, Gavin watched as the door opened a second time. This time, three brass automatons walked out, one in front and two behind. The one in front was a head taller than the others, and between the two in the back, a young woman could be seen, struggling against the metallic arms that held her and the metal faceplate that kept her silent. As they stopped in front of the open control panel, Gavin's ears perked up as he heard it speak.

"Your DNA is necessary to complete the transition," it said, its metallic voice drumming through the air. "Your voluntary compliance is unnecessary, but further resistance will be in vain. The Broken Lord does not delight in senseless destruction, but should you not comply, we will extract your DNA by force."

The young woman wilted as the Rovers watched. She then reached up and pulled out one of the brown hairs that fell to the small of her back.

"The Broken Lord thanks you for your compliance," said the leader said. "Perhaps he will show you mercy on the Day of Integration."

As the mechanical being placed the hair on the control panel, the hall's voice spoke.

"DNA match: Deborah Faustus, A6. Modifications accepted, altering teleportation matrix."

"Wait, 'teleportation matrix'?" asked Alex. "Does that mean –"

The malamute was interrupted as she heard the familiar sound of the "elevators" activating.

"Everyone!" she called over the communicator, "find someplace to hide out of sight from the doors! We've got visitors coming in, and I don't think they're friendlies!"

She, Gavin, and Hubert rushed towards the center of the room, huddling down below the railing as doors all over the hall began to open. Peering over the railing, they watched as dozens of mechanical beings began to enter the room. As more and more filed in, the hall began to fill with the rhythmic clanking of their mechanical feet on the floor and the incessant clattering of their clockwork insides.

"Hey guys," said Hunter over the communicator, "somehow, I don't think this is a social call."

"Any ideas?" asked Blitz.

Gavin was about to answer, when he heard a voice ringing out somewhere in the cave.

"All you who are faithful, all you who have taken up the cause of the Broken Lord, today is a day that shall live on in history. For today, we retrieve that which rightfully belongs to the Broken Lord and begin the Day of Integration."

Gavin jumped as he heard Alex wheezing next to him, her eyes glowing a pale purple light.

"Alex, what are you doing?" he whispered.

"Whatever it is that they want, it's obviously not in this room," she replied, "and it's fairly obvious they're up to no good. So, if we can keep them here, we can keep them from whatever it is they want."

"And how to you plan on keeping them here?" asked Hubert.

"By sending out an EM pulse and frying the teleporters."

"Hold that thought, Alex," said Gavin. He pressed his communicator before continuing. "Everyone listen up, if you heard that speech, then you know that these guys are up to no good. Alex can disable the teleporters with an EMP, trapping them here, but that means we'll be trapped here with them. It also means that we'll be flying blind, unable to communicate. I wanted to let you guys know before we did anything."

"Gavin," said Hunter, "we will be able to communicate. Through you."

The statement stunned the Border collie.

"But I've never tried that before," he stuttered. "I don't even know what I'm capable of!"

Alex laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Gavin," she said, "you've already set up a mental link with someone, remember? When we fought the AI Master, you and I linked to combine our powers. I know it will be hard, but I know you can do this."

"We believe in you, mate," said Taz.

"_Ja, _you can do it," said Blitz.

"We're all with you," said Hunter.

As the other Rovers weighed in their support, Gavin swallowed nervously. However, when he glanced up and looked into Alex's eyes, he felt his determination congeal.

"Okay," he said, "here I go."

Gavin closed his eyes, reaching out and searching for the other Rovers' minds. He found Alex's and Hubert's first and latched onto them. Next, he found Taz, Blitz, and Sylvia. Within moments, he was reading all of the Rovers' minds simultaneously. In his mind's eye, he envisioned tying the threads of their thoughts into a knot, and moments later, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"We know you could do it," thought Sylvia.

"Okay then," thought Hunter. "Alex, light 'em up!"

Instants later, the hall plunged into twilight as Alex's pulse fried every piece of electronics in the room. The teleporters, the lights, even the klaxon on the ceiling, were destroyed as the wave of energy swept over the hall. However, the room was not completely dark, as the dozens of metal creatures gave off a soft green glow from their midsections and heads.

"What is going on?" said the voice from before.

After a moment, another voice spoke up.

"Sir, it appears that the teleporters, along with all electronics, have been destroyed."

"Then search the hall! Find who did this and bring them to me!"

As the sound of clanking metal feet filled the hall, Gavin thought to the others.

"Okay guys, we're outnumbered by almost ten to one. I think guerrilla tactics are the name of the game. Sylvia, Shag, stay near Taz. His powers will make him the most visible of us all, and he's going to need backup. We need someone to help that girl they have cap –"

"I will do it!" Exile interjected. "I will save her."

Gavin paused for a moment.

"Okay, Exile's on hostage duty. Everyone else, hit and run. Did I miss anything, Hunter?"

Gavin could sense the Labrador's approval.

"Just one thing," Hunter thought. "What's Hubert going to do?"

"It just so happens," said the bloodhound, reaching into one of his pockets, "that I managed to pocket one of our sphere launchers before the Sonic Rover crashed."

"But, will that not be destroyed like the rest of the room?" asked Anton.

"Fortunately," Hubert pulled out the launcher and cocked it, "it has no electronic parts."

"Well then, I think we're ready!" thought Hunter.

"Good luck, everyone," said an unfamiliar voice.

Gavin paused for a moment.

"Shag?" he asked.

"Yes," replied the sheepdog, "the transdogmafication process left much of my mind doglike, preventing me from physically vocalizing my thoughts, but in here, I can be just as articulate as the rest of you. It is a shame I cannot express myself beyond this mental link."

"Problem for another day," thought Colleen, "let's kick some clockwork keester."

As one, the eleven Rovers raised their muzzles to the sky and howled as they leapt into action.

Leaping from his hiding place, Hubert loaded a round into his launcher and fired, the ball-like projectile whizzing through the air. Striking one of a group of automatons, it detonated with a blinding flash and resounding bang. As the bloodhound chambered another round, Gavin and Alex rushed the stunned automatons. Grasping one by the arm, Gavin spun and hurled it over the edge of the catwalk. Taking a running leap, Alex struck another in the head with a spinning kick. She cringed slightly as the head crumped under her blow; the sounds of metal grinding and pipes snapping as the automaton's glow died down and it crumpled to the ground. The pair rushed away into the darkness, before the automatons could react.

Up above them, Taz's arms burned brightly as he hurled blast after blast of fire at the incoming waves of automatons.

"Come on, ya rusty tea kettles! Gimme all ya got!" he cackled.

One automaton managed to get within striking distance of the flaming dingo, but before it could land a solid blow, Taz summoned two white hot plumes of fire and struck at its arms. He watched with satisfaction as the automaton's arms fell away, molten slag dripping from the points where he had connected. As the automaton turned and ran, Taz called to Sylvia.

"Some arm-y they got here, huh?"

"Not now, Taz!" exclaimed Sylvia.

The German shepherd was fighting off a trio of automatons, barely holding her own. One managed to get her in an arm lock, while the other two moved to hit her. Cringing, Sylvia felt pain rush through her as the bones in upper arms snapped. Ignoring the pain, she made use of the extra joint to escape the automaton's grasp. Green healing energy rushed down her arms as she punched one in the face, its faceplate crumpling under her fist. A hard kick sent another over the edge of the rail, as she spun and swept the legs of a third automaton. Swiftly reaching down, she twisted the metal man's neck until she felt viscous fluid flowing over her hands.

"Bloody brutal, Slyvie!" exclaimed Taz.

"Just like hunting squirrels," replied Sylvia.

Her eyes went wide as her eyes looked past the dingo.

"Taz, behind you!"

An enormous juggernaut was careening down the catwalk towards them, its metal feet cracking the floor beneath it. Taz formed fireball and hurled it at the oncoming automaton, but it seemed to shrug off the superhot flames as it barreled on. Taz stood routed to the ground in fear as it came closer, when suddenly, he heard a roar behind him. Turning, he watched as the white mass of fur known as Shag leapt towards the hulking machine. Meeting the metal mass head on, Shag shouldered the beast and planted his feet on the ground. After a few tense moments, the automaton had stopped in its path and raised its arms to strike at Shag. As it brought its arm down, Shag grabbed the arm, as well as the second that quickly followed. Roaring like a mad beast, Shag pulled with all his might and tore the behemoth's arms off, before tossing them aside. Planting his feet apart, he grasped the automaton's underbelly, before lifting the hulking figure above his head and hurling it down over the side. The sounds of its descent rang throughout the cave as the sheepdog turned to Taz.

"Next time," he said via Gavin's mental link, "do not let fear stop you from preserving your own life."

Taz swallowed as he stared up at the hulking Rover.

"Got it," he mumbled.

"Now come," thought Shag, laying a hand on Taz's shoulder. "Let us show these mechanical creatures what we are truly capable of."

Elsewhere in the cavern, Hunter rushed to and fro along the catwalks, barely slowing down as he tripped, kicked, and punched his adversaries at super-fast speeds.

"Alaska! Rhode Island! Alabama!" cried Colleen, each exclamation punctuating a punch or kick.

"I still don't understand why you do that!" exclaimed Hunter.

With a super spin, he used one of the automatons as a bludgeon, knocking half a dozen others.

"To tell you the truth, Hunty," replied Colleen, smashing the faceplate of another automaton, "I haven't the foggiest!"

Down below, Exile had managed to sneak down towards the automaton's hostage. Peering over the railing just above her, he could see she was still being held by two automatons. Activating his ice vision, he froze one of the automatons solid and leapt down to blast the second one. He used his heat vision to melt a hole straight through the automaton's chest before sending it crashing into the wall with a flying kick. Turning to the iced one, he drew back and punched it, shattered the brass machine into pieces.

Turning back to the young woman, he smiled. The woman was staring at him with a look of bewilderment and shock.

"Don't worry, _baryshnya,_" he said. "I am here to help. Let's see if I can get this off you."

Exile watched as she turned her back to him and pointed to spot on her faceplate. Looking closer, Exile could see what looked like a lock on the back. After analyzing the back of the faceplate, he looked around.

"Did either one have a key?" he asked.

The woman turned towards him with a look that spoke volumes.

"Right, you would have already gotten it," Exile muttered. "Right, well, hold your donkeys. This might hurt a little."

Aiming his heat vision at the lock, he melted a portion of it, before quickly freezing the molten metal. Gripping both sides of the faceplate, he pulled with all his might, and with a resounding snap, the metal gag snapped in half.

"There you go," said Exile. "Did I –"

Exile's thought were interrupted as the woman gripped both sides of his face and pressed her forehead to his. In his shock, he barely heard her whisper something.

"_Decernite et nominis sui et propositum._"

Exile felt something strange in the back of his mind, before the woman drew back.

"Exile," she said, smiling, "one of Dr. Shepherd's cano-sapiens."

"How did you…" Exile stammered.

"A simple identify spell," she replied. "I'm Deborah, by the way, but we need to save the formalities for later. You and your friends are fighting these guys all wrong."

Exile looked at her in confusion.

"There is a right way to fight them?" he asked.

Deborah sighed, bring a hand to her face.

"Of course, you wouldn't know," she mumbled.

She walked over to the railing, looking down at the bottom of the cavern, where a pile of automaton parts was slowly growing as more of the mechanical beings fell from above.

"These are the Disciples of the Broken Lord," she said. "They replace their bodies with mechanical parts to show their devotion to their master, and when enough of them are damaged or destroyed within too short a time…"

Deborah paused as the sound of clanking of clockwork grew louder. Exile watched as the pile of parts began to move on its own accord, gears and springs snapping together, as the glow he had seen coming from within the automatons above began to shine from within the pile. Within moments, a towering mechanical creature rose to its feet.

"They combine their bodies and minds to form something even more powerful," Deborah finished.

Exile gaped in shock and awe as he saw the piece of machinery continue to assemble themselves. Claws two feet in length sprang from the ends of its arms, teeth the size of his own head could be seen within its enormous maw, and a barbed point appeared on the end of the creature's tail. Within moments, an enormous reptilian machine was standing at the base of the cavern.

As the beast rose to its full height and roared, Exile put his hand to the side of his head.

"Comrades," he thought, "I think we may be in over our beds."


	3. Chapter 3

"Exile!" thought Hunter. "What's going on down there? Did you free the girl?"

"I did, comrade!" thought Exile, "but the metal men we have been breaking are rebuilding themselves, into some kind of giant lizard."

"What do we do!?" thought Taz.

"You can listen to me."

Exile looked to his right in shock.

"How did you get in here?" he thought.

Deborah smiled, a mischievous look in her pale green eyes.

"I'm a sorceress," she thought. "Breaking into an unprotected psychic network isn't that hard. Actually, you're lucky the Disciples haven't gotten in here. They run on psychic power."

"So," thought Gavin, "what's the plan, Miss…"

"Deborah," thought the sorceress. "Okay, here's the idea. Every one of the Disciples' clockwork bodies has a core made of psytanium, a metal alloy that responds to psychic energy. To decrease their power, the cores themselves have to be destroyed."

"If they're all made of clockwork," thought Colleen, "what's controlling them?"

"The voices you heard came from the Overseer Brains. A few of the Disciples are allowed to retain part of their identities and voices, so they can direct their troops. They are housed within heavily-armored mechs, and by now, they're probably all bunched together midway up the room."

"So, what is the plan?" asked Anton.

"What we need," replied Deborah, "is a team to keep the Disciples, and their giant clockwork lizard thing, busy, so they don't find some way into the rest of the base. While that's going on, a smaller team needs to try to disconnect the Overseer Brains from their psychic broadcasters. We need the heavy hitters down here with the lizard and the heavy thinkers up top with the Overseer Brains."

"Alright," thought Gavin, "Shag, Anton, Blitz, Hunter, Taz, and Colleen are the ground team. Sylvia, you'll be there to keep them on their feet."

A chorus of thoughts agreed to their roles.

"Hubert, Alex, and I will head for the Overseer brains," Gavin continued. "And Exile? We'll need you to get Deborah up here to help us. We could use her knowledge of the situation."

"Okay everyone!" thought Hunter. "Let's show 'em what we can do!"

Up on one of the catwalks, Hunter rushed towards his girlfriend, before scooping her up.

"Huntie!" she exclaimed in surprise, "I can't remember the last time you carried me like this."

Colleen wrapped her arms around his neck as she rested comfortably in his arms. As he rushed along the catwalks and down the stairs, Hunter smiled.

"Well," he said, "I like to save it for special occasions."

"This is a special occasion?" asked Colleen, over the rushing air.

Hunter looked down at the base of the cave.

"Fighting a psychically-controlled clockwork dinosaur in a cave with no way out. Yeah, I'd consider that special."

Up above, Taz looked down at the giant roaring lizard.

"How are we gonna get down there?" he asked. "It's a long way down."

He felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned, he saw Shag with a devilish grin on his face.

"Allow me," thought the sheepdog.

Scooping up Sylvia and Taz under his arms, Shag leapt from the catwalk. There was a moment of silence as Taz's shock wore off. Then, he screamed like a little girl.

Covering her ears, Sylvia looked down at the clockwork lizard. She saw Hunter rush to the ground floor and begin to spin at super-fast speeds. A moment later, he saw Colleen hurtle out from him at ludicrous speeds.

"Chimmy-Cherry-Changa!" cried the collie as her foot plowed into the clockwork creature's head.

The lizard stumbled to one side as the female Rover's impact snapped its head to one side. As it tried to right itself, an enormous boulder came flying from the other side of the room. Leaping down from another catwalk, Anton and Blitz landed on the floor as Anton dusted his paws off.

An instant later, Shag landed atop the lizard's metal-plated head, before springing off and setting his cargo on the ground. As the lizard shook off the triple impact it had just suffered, Taz rose to his feet, shaking in his boots.

"Warn me next time, mate," he breathed.

"But where is the fun in that?" thought Shag.

As the lizard rose to its full height and roared at the Rovers, Hunter called out to the others.

"Same as before, Rovers," he said, "hit and run. Don't stand still, or you might find yourself on a blind date with one of its pointy bits."

Taz's hands burst into flame, Anton pulled a boulder out of the ground, and Blitz bore his claws as the other Rovers took a fighting stance. A moment passed as the opposing combatants sized the other up. Finally, with a fervent howl, the Rovers launched themselves at the gargantuan lizard, which responded with an ear-splitting roar all its own.

Up above, Exile and Deborah watched the battle begin to unfold. Exile felt a bit uncomfortable as the pair of them snuck up towards where the Overseer Brains were. It was not, however, due to the stealth spell that Deborah had cast around them. Rather, it was because the young woman had taken ahold of his hand and refused to let go, all the while making small talk, as though they were simply on a walk in the park.

"So, how long were you five in that time bubble?" she asked, as the pair sidestepped another group of Disciples that were descending to the ground.

"Um…over ten years," Exile stammered.

"Hmm, and how old would you be, not counting those years?" she asked, coyly.

"Well, I was born…'95, so, that would make me 28 in dog years. Um, can we hurry?" he asked, as he continued to nervously glance upwards. "The others are waiting."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be fine," replied Deborah. "It's not every day I'm stuck in a cave full of menacing robots with nothing but a handsome man to protect me."

Exile's eyes went wide.

"You think I'm –"

"Oh look, we're here!"

Exile felt a shiver run down his spine as Deborah released his hand and her spells dispersed. As the young woman moved towards the other Rovers, Exile looked up to see that, just above them, stood a veritable fortress of clockwork. As Deborah, Gavin, and Hubert began discussing their next move, Alex approached the husky.

"Are you alright?" asked the malamute. "You look a little flushed."

Exile tugged at the collar of his suit, indeed feeling a little warm.

"Must be the lack of air flow," he muttered.

A few moments later, Deborah and other Rovers gathered around.

"I'm going to cast my Stealth spell again," she said, "and for it to extend to all of you, we need to be in, uh, physical contact."

As the others began to take each other's' hands, she held out hers to Exile. Upon seeing his hesitant look, she smiled sweetly at the husky.

"Come on, Exile. I won't bite," she said with a grin in her eyes.

Feeling unusually tense, Exile finally took ahold of Deborah's hand as she took ahold of Alex's. Closing her eyes, she began to murmur.

"_Abscondite nos a conspectu inimicorum_."

Exile felt a shiver run up his back as he watched a shell of energy envelope his teammates. The Rovers began to fade, until they were ghost-like in appearance.

"Okay guys," said Gavin, "single file up the stairs, keep in physical contact, and keep as inconspicuous as possible."

As the Border collie led the way, Exile followed between Hubert and Deborah. Feeling pressure on his hand, he looked back to see Deborah squeezing and rubbing his hand, a look of affection on her face. As he turned away, an uncertain look rose on his face.

"What is she doing?" he thought. "Is she…flirting…with me?"

The quintet made their way up the stairs, the rhythmic sound of clockwork growing in their ears as they approached the Overseers' fortress. The structure looked as though it had grown like some sort of brass tree. As they approached, Deborah whispered another spell.

"_Iter ingredi castra_."

A silvery trail of light flowed out from her towards the towering structure. As the Rovers looked on, it wound its way between a pair of giant gears.

"This way," Deborah said, motioning to the trail of shimmering lights.

Leading the Rovers through the opening, the group wound their way through the fortress's tangled mess of moving parts. With little incident, the five managed to thread their way to the fortress's center. Pulling themselves through the final gap, they stared in awe at the sight before them.

The floor of the chamber consisted of a single enormous gear, slowly turning in rhythm with rest of the fortress. Hovering in the center of the chamber was an enormous shard of psytanium, its purple surface giving off a green-tinted light, and around the room, sitting atop their own pedestals, were a dozen brains, each floating in their own glass container.

"So, that's why I was smelling cranial fluid and heavy water," muttered Hubert.

"How did they get this all in here?" asked Exile.

"Like I said," replied Deborah, "the Overseer Brains are powerful psychics. They can meld and morph matter with merely a thought."

"So what do we do?" asked Exile.

"We –"

Deborah's eyes grew wide as she looked past the husky.

"Gavin! Alex! No!" she cried.

As she rushed past him, Exile saw the two young Rovers moving towards the psytanium shard, but before she could reach them, they had reached out and touched the glowing metal. A shockwave of green energy exploded from the psytanium shard before immediately reversing its course. Hubert was thrown off his feet as the implosion sucked him in. Alex and Gavin never had a chance to run. Exile grabbed Deborah as she fell to the floor. Pulling her to his chest, he grasped one of the brass rods extending from the wall. As Hubert crashed into the psytanium shard, a green glow appeared in his eyes, along with those of Alex and Gavin. Moments later, they rose into the air and stared down at the one remaining Rover and the young sorceress, and as they opened their mouths, they spoke in a voice not their own.

"We meet once again, Deborah…" said not-Gavin.

"We must thank you for your cooperation…" said not-Hubert.

"Without you, we would not be able to lay claim to these great minds…" said not-Alex.

"They will serve us…"

"As you have served us…"

"But now your use…"

"Has come to an end."

"You have granted us these minds…"

"And so, we will allow you to watch…"

"As they are made one with us."

As the winds suddenly stopped, Exile and Deborah fell to the floor. The Rover lay there stunned, before noticing that the sorceress was clinging to him and sobbing.

"_Baryshnya,_ what is wrong?" he asked, lifting her head to see her face.

To his surprise, her eyes were no longer green, but a silvery grey.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed. "They had control over me before I even got here. They sensed Gavin and Alex as soon as you got in the base. I tried so hard to fight them, but they were too much. I'm so sorry!"

As she finished speaking, Deborah broke down, tears flowing freely down her face once again.

Still unsure of what to do, Exile did the only thing he could think off, wrapping his arms around her and holding her as she cried. Deborah clung to him even as he watched the Overseer Brains begin their work on the other three Rovers. For a moment, he contemplated fighting them.

"But," he thought, "if they could take control of someone like Deborah, what are my chances of winning?"

With an exhausted sigh, he mentally resigning himself to his fate and closed his eyes, waiting for the end he knew was coming.

"I cannot believe I will eat dirt here," he thought, "with my pack fighting giant metal dinosaur or having brains removed by psychic robots."

With the sounds of clanking gears, creaking springs, and groaning pistons filled the air, Exile barely noticed a fizzling sound that came from where the mind-controlled Rovers were. Opening his eyes, he saw that Gavin was no longer floating before the psytanium shard. Puzzled, he continued watching, and after a few second, he saw something appear in a puff of smoke, before vanishing a moment later, taking Alex with it.

"What is happening?" he thought.

Moments later, Hubert vanished as well, and then the smoke appeared in front of him. In the few moments it was visible, Exile could make out a shape within the smoke. A pair of glowing yellow eyes peered down at him from the top of a tall lanky figure, a pair of horns perched atop its head with an arrow-tipped tail between its legs. However, before he could say or do anything, the figure had reached down and grabbed Deborah, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"Hey!" exclaimed Exile as he rose to his feet. "Get back here!"

Exile readied his heat vision as he stood at the ready. Hearing the same fizzling from behind him, he turned just in time to see the same figure lunging for him. Rolling to one side, he dodged the airborne figure and fired his heat vision. The beams of heat hit only smoke as the figure vanished once again and reappeared on top of the Rover.

"Get off me!" Exile exclaimed, trying to wrestle with his attacker.

The figure said nothing as the pair vanished in another puff of smoke. Exile felt as though the air was being pulled from his lungs as the creature's strange smoke filled them, but an instant later, it was over. The Rover now found himself in a brightly lit room, the change in light making him close his eyes in pain.

"That's the last of them!" he heard a voice shout. "Team Psycho-Breaker is go!"

A distant thud shook the floor that Exile lay upon. Instants later, the same voice called out again.

"Wall is breached! Go, go, go! Archer, get that kinetic barrier up and don't let anything through that isn't made of meat!"

Exile felt himself being picked up from the floor and placed on a something soft. Daring to open his eyes, he saw a bright light above his head. A moment later, its luminance dimmed as Exile saw another new face appeared between him and the light. A pair of hands rested on either side of his head.

"What are you…" Exile began.

"Shh," said the new face, "it's alright. You're safe now."

Exile felt a slight tingling in the back of mind for a brief moment, before the hands were removed from his head.

"He's clean," said the face. "Looks like they didn't even touch him."

After a few moments, Exile felt a hand on his chest, and he turned to see the Master staring down at him, a relieved smile on his face.

"Hey Exile," he said, "how're you feeling?"

"Like was hit by stampeding reindeer herd," replied Exile, holding his head as he sat up. "What happened?"

"It turns out the whole thing was a giant gambit by the Disciples to get ahold of Alex, Gavin, and Hubert," the Master explained. "The containment breach was just a distraction to get all of you isolated."

As the Master further explained the incident, Exile took stock of his surroundings. He was in a hospital-like room, surrounded by sparse medical equipment. He saw each of the other Rovers on their own beds with a number of W.I.S.P. staff looking them over.

"And so, Team Psycho-Breaker, who is trained especially to deal with the Disciples, is cleaning up their mess."

The Master finished his brief explanation. He turned and looked over his creations with a smile.

"All in all, I think you all have had enough adventure for today," he said. "Get some rest, Exile. We'll be debriefing all of you in a few hours."

With that, the Master rose from Exile's cot, gave him an affectionate pat, and moved towards the next Rover in line. Exile lay back down, heaving a sigh of relief and confusion. On the one hand, he was glad that his team was safe and sound. On the other, he could not help but think they had failed.

"Real heroes do not need to be rescued, right?" he thought.

Turning to his left, he noticed that the cot next to him was occupied by Deborah. The sorceress was asleep at the moment, apparently exhausted from their shared ordeal. Oddly enough, there was a smile on her face, and she seemed oddly content as she slept.

"I suppose if she is alright," thought Exile, "then I can be happy about that."

* * *

"…and then this giant guy with a flamethrower appeared and started melting the robots! Then, there was a robot lady with laser guns for arms! And then, there was this guy who made a bunch of robots float into the air. Then, that guy with the smoke pulled me out and that's about it."

The Rovers had rested for several hours and were waiting to be "debriefed," as the Master had said. By now, Taz's enthusiastic reprisal of the Rovers' battle came to an end, though his enthusiasm was not shared by the other Rovers. Colleen and Hunter sat side by side, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder, forlorn expressions on their faces. Anton was fiddling with some loose stone, making it float above his hand as he sighed. Shag sat with his knees to his chest, staring into space, while Blitz compulsively sharpened his claws. Slyvia lay on her back, streaks of dried tears running down the sides of her face. Alex and Gavin both appeared to have zoned out, while Exile stared at the ceiling, barely hearing the ecstatic dingo.

"Wow," replied Deborah, as Taz finished his tale, "I wish I was there. That sounds amazing."

Taz puffed out his chest in pride.

"Yeah, we probably could have taken them down," he boasted, "but –"

"Ha!"

A loud laugh from Biltz interrupted the dingo, who turned and glared at the Doberman.

"You think this is all a game, don't you, puppy-boy?" Blitz asked, still sharpening his claws. "Well, let me be the first to that it isn't."

Raising his eyes to look at Taz, he glared back.

"If those Agents hadn't gotten us out of there," he continued, "we would all be dead."

Taz's eyes began to burn with fury.

"Well, maybe if you'd done more fightin' and less worryin' about those pretty nails o' yers," he retorted, "then we wouldn't have been in that mess."

"And if you had done more than throw a few matches around, you might have actually helped!"

By now, the two were staring daggers at each other, Blitz's claws gleaming in the light, while flames began to eddy around Taz's arms.

"You wanna go, pretty boy?" Taz growled.

"You have no idea," snarled Blitz.

"Enough! Both of you!"

The pair turned towards Gavin, as he gripped his head.

"Enough with the yelling and the anger!" he groaned. "Everyone just calm down, please!"

Tears of pain began to flow down his face, as a worried Alex put an arm around his shoulder.

"I thought I'd gotten my telepathy under control," he sobbed, "but now I can't get you guys out of my head. Every hurtful thought, every wounded feeling, they're all running though my head, and I can't make them stop!"

The tension that had hung in the air vanished as Gavin broke down into pain-ridden sobs. Wordlessly, Alex pulled him into a hug, resting his head on her shoulder. For a few moments, there was no sound in the med bay but Gavin's quiet crying. Then, Sylvia rose from her cot and moved to embrace the sobbing psychic. Anton and Exile followed a moment later, until one by one, the Rovers had all joined the enormous, furry group hug.

"No matter what happened today," said Hunter, "and no matter what happens tomorrow, we're still a pack, a family, and we'll be there for each other. Win or lose, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part."

The other Rovers chuckled at the Labrador.

"We may belong to every corner of the world," continued Colleen, "but here and now, we belong to each other. And hell will have to bloody freeze over before we let one little failure drive us apart. So, what do you say, Rovers? To the power of the pack?"

A collective smile washed over the group.

"To the power of the pack," they replied.

The following group howl was much quieter and more somber than any of their previous ones, but as the Road Rovers felt their emotional weights fall away, they knew that things turn out for the best, as long as they stayed true to each other.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: Allow me to apologize for the lack of updates this past month. The business of college finals, plus the Christmas season, plus a number of other circumstance kept me from writing as much as I wanted. So, without further ado, I give you the chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Nearly a dozen Rovers sat around a conference table. Their spirits somewhat rejuvenated, they patiently waited for their "debriefing," as the Master had called it. Following Taz's obligatory underwear joke, the Rovers had begun to chat amongst themselves, only to be cut off as the door to the conference room opened and an octet of figures strolled in.

One was nearly eight feet tall and covered in thick stringy brown hair. A pair of baggy pants and an open vest were his only clothing, and his hands and feet ended in sharp claws.

The next was an android, clearly designed to be a visually attractive female. Her chrome and purple plating gleamed in the room's lamplight.

Next was a man, wearing a red and purple tuxedo. Its overt gaudiness felt somewhat appropriate, given the glowing eye tattoo in the middle of his forehead.

Following him was a familiar-looking figure. He was tall and thin with deep red skin. There was an arrow-tipped tail between his legs and a pair of horns sprouting just above his glowing yellow eyes.

Behind him came three more familiar figures, Deborah, Morgana, and the Master, talking amongst themselves as they entered.

And finally, the final person to enter was a short, rotund figure. His white hair was in the latter stages of balding, and the simple black suit he wore seemed out of date by a few decades. The cane he used was tipped with a gold nob, and it made an odd clacking sound as he used it to support his weight.

As the small man moved to the head of the table, he cleared his throat.

"Please be seated, everyone," he said. "We have much to discuss."

"Rovers," said the Master, as the other beings took their seats, "allow me to introduce you to Team Psycho-Breaker, Squad A6. This is Reeko Drolraw, our yeti engineer."

The tall hairy creature nodded in acknowledgement.

"ADI, the Advanced Defense Intelligence."

The android waved and smiled.

"Adolphus Faustus, demon prince and master of infernal magic."

The horned being nodded.

"And, Justinian von Croy, master psychic and one of my oldest friends."

The man with the glowing tattoo gave an exaggerated bow before taking his seat.

"You all know Deborah and Morgana."

The two sorceresses waved.

"And last, but certainly not least, allow me to introduce the Director."

The small man smiled as he looked over the assembled agents.

"I would like to congratulate you all on today's excursion," he said, "and I would like to congratulate the Road Rovers for passing their test."

The Rovers sat in silence for a moment, unsure of what to make of this.

"Um," Hunter began, "how exactly does nearly dying at the hands of psychic robots count as passing a test?"

The Director chuckled.

"Oh, the test was never about defeating the Disciples," he replied. "I knew all along that you would fail. You see, I have a gift; some might call it a curse. I can see visions of the future. When I first learned of my gift, I tried to prevent the tragedies I would see, but I soon learned that the things I saw where what _would _happen, not simply what could happen. Three days ago, I had a vision of the Disciples entering the base and defeating all of you, and so, I set about making sure that this would happen on the Agency's terms.

"But, that's not the important part. When I received my vision, I saw an excellent opportunity. You see, long before you disappeared some twelve years ago, I had wanted to induct you Rovers into W.I.S.P. and make you proper agents, rather than simply proxies. However, before becoming proper agents, you would have had to pass the _Iudicio Deficiendi_, the Test of Utter Failure. All agents must pass the trial, in which they are put up against a hopeless situation. How they react to the situation and the inevitable defeat determines if they will become a full agent, and so, I decided that the Disciples' invasion would be your _Iudicio Deficiendi_, and I am pleased to say that you passed with flying colors."

The Director smiled as he watched the Rovers' faces, their jaws hanging open in shock.

"Not only did you persevere in the face of insurmountable odds, never once letting your adversaries go without a fight, putting your lives on the line in order to protect others, but when everything was over and your failure was fresh in your minds, you rose above your misfortune and resolved to fight another day. And that spirit, that tenacity, is far more important than any amount of power or combat prowess.

"So, it is with great pride that I would like to award you Rovers the title of "W.I.S.P. Agent, Level A1". Justinian, if you would?"

The psychic stood and nodded. Smiling, he waved his hand, and a briefcase rose from beneath the table, landing at it center. The Rovers watched as it opened, revealing within eleven rectangular badges. Under the influence of Justinian's telekinesis, the badges floated towards the Rovers.

"Starting tomorrow, you will begin your training as W.I.S.P. agents," the Director continued. "We will also be sending a team to retrofit your headquarters with new technology and add it to the W.I.S.P. teleportation grid, but until then, Rovers, take some time to relax. You've earned it."

For a few moments, the Rovers traded glances, looking from their new badges to the W.I.S.P. agents around them to each other. The looks on their faces told the others in the room that there was a hurried, unheard conversation happening between them. Finally, Gavin spoke up.

"Actually sir," he said, "we were hoping that we could all go home for a few days?"

"Home?" asked the Director.

He turned towards the Master.

"I thought you chose strays for your transdogmafication process."

The Master nodded.

"I did," he said. "However, the Neo Rovers were chosen by an automated program, and it would seem that they do indeed have masters."

The Director thought for a moment.

"Considering the fact," he said, "that you recently either came out of suspended animation, or have spent less than a week in your roles as heroes, I'll allow a week's reprieve before your training begins."

* * *

The machines within the Road Rovers' base were running impeccably, until a wave of energy swept through the cavern. The machines sputtered and powered down, before resetting themselves and rebooting. From the base's main courtyard, a dome of light appeared. Moments later, it vanished, leaving twelve Rovers and the Master standing in its place.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to Morgana's magic," mumbled Alex, briefly shivering in discomfort.

"Oh, don't worry," chuckled the Master. "By this time next week, they'll have a W.I.S.P. teleporter installed here."

"Oh, I'm so excited!" exclaimed Hunter. "I can't wait to see Bill and Hilary again!"

"Actually, Hunter," said the Master, "I'm not going to be sending you back to the Clintons."

Hunter stopped as a confused look crept over his face.

"But, but, why?" he asked.

"Does this mean we won't be going back to our old masters?" asked Blitz.

"Everyone, please understand," the Master explained. "I would love to send you back to the humans who cared for you for so long. However, we have been gone for so long that, were you to show up on their doorstep, unchanged by the passage of time, they would not believe you were really you. Twelve years is the nearly the lifespan of a normal dog, and to send you back to your old masters could potentially put all of your lives in jeopardy."

The five original Rovers hung their heads, sorrow on their faces.

"So we're never going to be normal dogs again?" asked Colleen.

"Oh! Oh no no!" the Master responded. "I'm going to be looking for new civilian homes for you as soon as humanly possible."

The Rovers brightened at this.

"I don't want you to spend the rest of your lives as heroes; you are dogs after all. And it would be remiss of me not to find you new homes after unintentionally taking away your old ones."

"Um, Master?" asked Alex, a concerned look on her face. "We're going home, right?"

The Master turned to the Neo Rovers and smiled.

"Of course, you're going home," he said. "Now, off to the transdogmafier, while I double check the retrieval system."

As the Neo Rovers scampered off, the Master headed for the main control console, but before he had gone far, he felt a paw on his shoulder.

"Master?" he heard Gavin say.

Dr. Shepherd turned to see the Border collie looking back at him with a concerned look on his face.

"I don't know if you knew this," began the canine, "but…I don't have a home."

"You were a stray?"

Gavin nodded, his head hanging in disgrace.

"Then, we'll just have to find you one," replied the Master. "You're welcome to stay here until we do."

Sighing in sorrow, Gavin sat down on a nearby bench. Pulling his legs to his chest, he buried his muzzle between them. After a few moments, he felt a paw on his shoulder.

"Gavin?"

The Border collie looked up to see Alex staring down at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her face drawn in concern.

Gavin sighed.

"I guess I'm not really looking forward to getting a new master," he said. "Everyone else either has a master, or good memories of their last one. Me, I don't have either. I guess I'm just afraid that my new master won't like me, or worse yet throw me out. And I'll be right back where I started."

"Well," Alex smiled shyly, "you could come home with me."

Gavin's breath caught in his chest as he looked back up at her, his eyes wide in surprise.

"You…you mean it?" he asked, uncertainty on his voice.

Alex nodded.

"My master Hector has been thinking about getting a new pet," she said, smiling, "and I don't think he'd mind if I picked one out for him."

Gavin leapt to his feet and gripped Alex in a bear hug, his tail wagging furiously.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, Alex!" he exclaimed.

Alex giggled.

"It's really nothing. I just – Mmph!"

Before she could say a thing, Gavin had gripped both sides of her face and planted a kiss square on her muzzle. A moment later, the Border collie's eyes opened slightly, before snapping open in shock. Taking a hurried step backwards, he stammered as he stared at Alex's stunned face.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Alex. I-I-I wasn't thinking. I just – Mmph!"

Gavin's nervous stuttering was forcibly ended as Alex threw her arms around him and kissed him. The force of her attack send him backwards onto the ground. After a moment, the shock of the kiss and the fall wore off, and Gavin returned the kiss. For several moments, the pair lay on the ground, their lips locked in a curious dance. Finally, the pair separated. As they both inhaled deeply, Gavin smiled up at Alex.

"Ow," he said, a twinkle in his eye.

"Sorry," Alex replied, turning her face away. "I just got caught up in the moment."

"Hey, it's okay," he said, nudging her chin back towards him. "I can handle a little back pain, for a first kiss like that."

A smile blossomed on Alex's face as they stared into each other's eyes.

A moment later, their reverie was broken as someone cleared his throat.

"Ahem, so I take it the train to Victoria has two passengers now?"

The pair turned to see the Master, along with the other Rovers, staring down at them. Alex looked around in a slight panic, before landing back on Gavin. The Border collie gave her a lopsided grin and shrugged his shoulders.

"Um…yes," she said, at last.

Uproarious laughter filled the cavern, as the pair rose from the ground and the entire group made their way to the transdogmafiers. Goodbyes were said, hugs and handshakes given, and the Neo Rovers stepped into the machines. Smoke filled the air as the alteration process took hold of the canines. Moments later, five dogs emerged from the machines and made their way to transport pods. The Master gave them each an affectionate scratch, before securing the doors.

"You're good, good dogs, Rovers," he said, "and you did great these past few days. See you in a week!"

The other Rovers called out their goodbyes as the Neo Rovers vanished in a flash of light. With that, the Master turned to the remaining Rovers.

"Okay everyone," he said, "you all have a week before your W.I.S.P. training begins. Go make the most of it."

With several cries of excitement, the Rovers headed off into their old base, intent on seeing how much of the base had survived their twelve year absence. As the cano-sapiens vanished into the base's buildings, a figure walked up beside the Master.

"So, what do you think, Shepherd?" asked the figure. "Do you think they're ready?"

"I don't know, Morgana," he replied. "I know my original Rovers have years of heroism and experience behind them. I think they'll do quite well as W.I.S.P. agents. The Neo Rovers, though, I am unsure of. According to the Neo Rovers, the W.I.S.P. AI that I installed here took on a persona that reflected myself. However, it seemed to have grown much more aggressive over the years, focusing on a team built around power, rather than cooperation."

"Do you think the more powerful Neo Rovers will overshadow the others?" asked the sorceress.

"I don't know," replied the Master, his face drawn in thought. "The Neo Rovers have great potential. Only time will tell if they live up to it."


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you sure he'll like me?" asked Gavin.

The nighttime of Victoria was somewhat quiet, certainly nothing like the Border collie's former home on the streets of Manhatten. After arriving a few blocks from the apartment building that Alex called home, the pair had made their way to the building and snuck inside.

"Trust me," replied Alex, as they approached the door to Hector's apartment. "He'll love you…as long as you behave."

"Yes ma'am," Gavin said, giving the malamute a mock salute.

Alex giggled as she scratched at the door to apartment number 418. After a few moments with no response, she resorted to whining. When that produced no results, she cocked her head in puzzlement.

"I don't get it," she said. "He's usually awake this time of night."

"Let me take a look," said Gavin.

Closing his eyes, Gavin reached out with his mind, psychically exploring the space behind the door. In his mind's eye, he could see a jumbled mess of disorder, until he caught sight of an active mind. Looking closer, he could feel stress, fear, and worry coming off the mind in waves. Reaching closer, he touched the mind and felt thoughts that were not his own flood his mind. Curiosity got the better of him, and he leaned in to touch it. However, before he penetrate the mind, he felt it jolt and throw him out. Startled, as his concentration was broken, Gavin yelped and fell backwards.

"Gavin!" Alex exclaimed.

The Border collie rolled to his feet, shakily raising himself from the floor.

"I think he's awake now," he wheezed.

The pair's ears perked up as they heard someone working the door's lock, and they turned as the door swung open. From within, a thin pale human male looked down on them, a pair of slightly discolored pajama pants and a white t-shirt framing his thin form.

"Alex!" he exclaimed as he rushed to embrace the malamute.

Excited yips and whines escaped the malamute's throat as she nuzzled her master.

"Oh, Alex, where have you been!?" the human exclaimed. "I've been so worried. If you weren't back by tomorrow, I was going to –"

For the first time, the human noticed the Border collie sitting in the hallway behind his own dog, his tail wagging slightly.

"Alex? Who is this?"

"Gavin, this is Hector," Alex murmured as she moved to sit next to him. "Just be nice. I'll handle the rest."

Alex then nuzzled Gavin, rubbing her cheek on his. The sudden contact surprised the Border collie, but he was not about to complain.

"Alex, did you get a boyfriend while you were gone?" asked Hector, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Well, let's see if he likes me."

Getting down on one knee, Hector extended his hand to Gavin. The Border collie moved his muzzle forward to sniff the hand. Once he had gotten the human's scent, Gavin gave the hand a friendly lick.

"Well, you _are _a friendly one, aren't you?" Hector chuckled. "Come on, you two. Inside."

Gavin's tail started wagging at full speed as he slipped inside the door Hector held open. As the door shut behind him, he looked around the sparsely furnished apartment. A pair of worn couches sat in one corner, boxing in a homemade set of shelves which were filled with a television, several pieces of electronic equipment, and dozens of set of videos and games. One door led to a kitchen, the linoleum cracked in several places. Another led to a bedroom, a pile of dirty clothes nestled in one corner. Gavin knew that, to some, this might seem like a dump, but to him, it was the most wonderful place in the world.

"So, this is home?" asked Gavin, his hopes high as he took in his surroundings.

"Yes, Gavin, this is home."

* * *

Alex's voice faded with the memory as Gavin awoke from his sleep. A week had passed since Alex and Hector had given him a new home, and the Border collie had never been happier. Playing with Alex and Hector in the park had been wonderful. The sights, sounds, and smells of his new city, his new home, filled his mind as he stretched. Looking around apartment 418, he saw Hector bent over his laptop typing away, a wireless cellphone headset attached to his ear as he held a conversation with some unseen other. Alex was curled up at her master's feet, content to listen to the sound of his voice.

Seeing that Gavin had woken up, Alex got up and trotted over towards him. Nuzzling her muzzle against his neck, she smiled back at him.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said.

Gavin yawned and stretched, rising from the floor.

"So, ready for today?" he asked, nuzzling her back.

"Sure am," Alex replied. "Though, I'm still unsure how we're getting back."

The dogs' ears perked up at the sound of a zipper being pulled shut.

"Well, it looks like I just have to go fill out some paperwork," said Hector, as he stuffed his laptop in its carrying case, "and then this handsome fellow will be officially ours."

He bent down and scratched the pair behind the ears.

"I'll be home late from work," he said, "since I'll be stopping to get his paperwork done. No idea how long that will take, so be good, you two."

With that, he strode out the door, locking it behind him. As his footsteps faded down the hallway, the two Rovers sat together for a moment.

"So, like I was saying…" Alex began.

Before she could get any further, she felt a familiar energy engulf her, and instants later, she and Gavin were sitting in the courtyard of the Road Rovers' base.

"Ugh…" Alex held her stomach as her insides squirmed.

"You okay?" asked Gavin, concernedly.

"I think it might be teleportation, not magic, that makes me nauseous," she replied.

Shaking off the feeling, she cocked her head towards the transdogmafier.

"Well, shall we?" she asked.

The pair trotted over to the machines, smoke surrounding them as they entered. Moments later, they emerged from the machines, walking on two legs and clad in their red and silver uniforms.

"Good morning, you two," said a voice.

The pair turned to see the Master, standing by the transdogmafier's controls.

"Good morning, Master," replied Alex.

"Are you two ready to start your W.I.S.P. training?" asked the Master.

"Sir, yes, sir!" exclaimed Gavin, giving him a mock salute.

The Master chuckled.

"Well, let's go meet up with the others," he said, as he left the Transport and Transformation Building. "We'll be leaving in just a few minutes."

As they walked, Gavin and Alex took in the sights of the new and improved base. All around, the pair could see new structures in various states of construction. Several of the hydrant-like structures were covered in scaffolding, with W.I.S.P. agents renovating the buildings inside and out.

"Master, before we go," Alex began, "I just want to ask. How did you know we were alone before you brought us back?"

"W.I.S.P. has assigned handlers for each of you," replied the Master. "When he saw you were alone, he alerted me, and I brought you here."

"Handlers?" asked Gavin.

"We'll get into that once we get to W.I.S.P. headquarters," said the Master.

As they entered the Rovers' Dormitory, he directed them to the central lounge. As he turned to leave, the three of them heard a voice from below.

"Doctor Shepherd!"

The trio looked down see an ethereal figure rise from the ground. Its long hair appeared to flow in an unseen wind, and its thin, gaunt form seemed ready to fade away, as its edges seemed to evaporate.

"The crew working in the tunnels has run into a bit of a pest problem," it said. "Do you know if there are any industrial strength bug bombs were brought in from W.I.S.P. HQ?"

"Sorry, Matilda, I'm afraid I can't help there," replied the Master. "You'll need to ask Reeko. He's in charge of the retrofitting, and I couldn't tell you what half the stuff he brought does."

The floating figure shrugged.

"Oh well, worth a shot. Guess I'll head over there then," she said.

Turning to the two Rovers, she smiled.

"Oh hello, you must be Gavin and Alex. I've heard some good things about the two of you. Good luck today."

With that, the transparent woman floated away. The two Rovers stared after her, their mouths agape. The Master chuckled.

"That was Matilda," he said. "She died in a car accident twenty years ago, and now, she's one of W.I.S.P.'s best spies."

Seeing their expressions still locked in bewilderment, the Master sighed.

"Trust me, you two. A ghost is one of the least weird things you'll see while working at W.I.S.P. Now, go on into the lounge. The others are waiting."

As they entered the lounge, Alex and Gavin were greeted to the sights, sounds, and smells of their teammates. As they entered the lounge, they saw Exile and Taz playing a game of Ping-Pong. Colleen and Sylvia were sitting in one corner, sharing a pot of tea and chatting. The sound of clanking metal, heavy panting, and the occasional growl of exertion came from down the hall told the pair that Anton, Blitz, and Shag had taken to the weight room. As they waved to the others, they were suddenly caught in a bear hug by a speeding Hunter. The Labrador was crying his eyes out as his grip tightened on the two Neo Rovers.

"Hunter, what's wrong!?" asked Gavin.

"Guys," responded Hunter, his eyes brimming with tears, "the cake was a lie!"

With that, he broke down crying again, as the other Rovers looked on in exasperation.

"Um…what?" asked Alex, puzzled by the Labrador's actions.

With a sigh, Colleen walked up and gently extricated her boyfriend from the other Rovers, before leading him off to a nearby sofa. Exile walked up a sigh.

"Welcome back, comrades," he said. "Sorry for that little season."

"You mean episode?" asked Alex.

"Right, I am pretty sure you're wondering what has Hunter in such tizzy."

The two Rovers could only nod.

"During the first day of vacation, Taz shows up with something called "Xbox" and introduces Hunter to video games. Poor fellow has been attached to TV ever since, and last game he played ended without cake, though I am not sure why it mattered."

Alex sighed.

"It would take too long to explain," she said.

"Rovers, front and center!" came a cry outside the lounge's entrance.

The Rovers turned to see the Master, flanked by a pair of W.I.S.P. agents, wearing a grey and blue uniform emblazoned with an image of a flame and standing out in the courtyard. Heading their master's call, the Rovers lined up before the entrance to the dormitory.

"Today, you begin your training as W.I.S.P. agents," said the Master, sounding very much like a drill sergeant. "First, you will be tested to determine the extent of your abilities. Then, you will each be assigned to a seasoned W.I.S.P. agent to further your training. Over the course of the next few weeks, you will be trained mentally and physically to improve your abilities and your effectiveness in combat. You will also be trained in a number of more mundane skills, to better aid you in your fight against evil and the unknown. You will be briefed in more detail once you arrive at W.I.S.P. HQ. Now, follow me."

With that, the Master turned on his heel and marched towards a new structure that had been constructed. The walls of the structure were a bright copper color and stood about ten feet high. Its domed room was dotted with equipment jutting from within, and the large double doors that dominated the front had the same image on them that was on the Master's uniform.

"This is the transporter sent over from W.I.S.P. HQ," said the Master. "As of this moment, it is not functioning at full capacity, and so you will go through in groups. The Neo Rovers will go first, escorted by Agent Carnelli, followed by Agent Hawk with the Proto Rovers."

"Proto Rovers?" asked Colleen.

The Master gave her a short grin.

"Well, we can't keep calling you 'the original Rovers,' can we?" he asked. "Now, inside, on the double!"

* * *

**Author's Note: This may or may not be the final chapter in the story. Oh, don't worry, the tale of the Neo Rovers is going to continue; I'm just debating whether the next section of the tale is worth devoting an entire story to. So if, in the next few weeks, you see me tag this story as "Complete," keep an eye out for a Neo Rovers 3 popping up shortly thereafter. See you all next time!**


End file.
